Lasik

[matthewcline 0]

PRK of course there is no flap to flip back the whole thing is removed and has to regrow. Of course that will remove the "space" between the lens and the cornea. Which should remove the rinkle and our tear factor during blunt trauma. The military's primary concern.

The draw back for me was the down time of PRK. Most seamed to be grounded or placed on "limited duty" much longer than with LASIK.

There seamed to be much more pain, recovery medicine needed and time.

I also had no desire to go into SOF ( well I had the desire but not the time, I retire in 10 months) nor be a pilot. So to me if you took those two (military)restrictions out LASIK was the best deal for this skydiver who got the proceedure for free.

Did that help?

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[Speer 0]

Yes it did help, thanks Matt. I was just interested in seeing (no pun intended) what the latest info was.

I had some discomfort the first day (lost the protective soft contact as soon as I left the clinic apparently) and they forgot to give me the numbing drops to use... The second eye went much better. I was made to wait 3 months between eye procedures to establish healing results. My downtime was minimal, only a few days. I did wear glasses with one lens removed during the 3 months between procedures.

The surface layer removed in PRK actually heals in just a few days according to the surgeon I saw. My perception was that recovery was much quicker with the PRK procedure, AFTER a couple days of mild discomfort that LASIK patients do not have to endure. I have had absolutely no side effects or negative experiences with the PRK, and will gladly face the mild discomfort again. I have had some recurrence of the astigmatism, and may have a touch up done in the future, thus my interest. After talking with you and others, I certainly would not be afraid of combining LASIK and skydiving, but it still appears that PRK may have an edge.

Yes, free is good! I also had a "rich Uncle" pay for mine after a "trauma induced reduction in visual acuity"... in other words, don't lead with your face!

Thanks again for the response. Good luck with the impending retirement, and blue skies.

Russ

Generally, it is your choice; will your life serve as an example... or a warning?

[shall555 0]

Quote

Sled14,

It is similar to LASIK, but there is no flap. Reshaping of the eye is done from the surface down.
...
A downside to PRK is the moderate discomfort for a day or two, and your vision is a little blurry for a couple days ...

Get educated, and good luck!

You know how they say "Your mileage may vary" ?

My PRK varied a *lot* from Speer's description.

First, while the procedure wasn't painful, for the following 24 hours it felt like someone had put a cigar out in my eye. Super knockout pills just blunted the pain.

On the several followup visits, it became apparent that the vision in my "corrected" eye wasn't going to snap back the way the majority of peoples' eyes do after PRK. They typically over-correct and expect the eye to heal back to the ideal shape.

In my case, the cornea healed at the point where the PRK laser left it -- 4.5 diopters in the far-sighted direction. I was about 4.5 diopters *near-sighted* before, so I now have one eye far-sighted by as much as the other's near-sighted. Makes wearing glasses impossible.

Based on my experience, I can't recommend PRK. I've had several acquaintances who had great success with Lasik, though none were skydivers.

I guess what I'm saying is "Be careful out there."

There's a possibility that you could wind up like me, in the 1% of people that had nightmare results. Hey, this is your *vision* we're talking about. Are contacts so awful ?

Cheers,

shall

[matthewcline 0]

I had both eyes done at the same time in December 2002.

35 days later (Jan '03) I was at the RWS Examinor course in DeLand.

In Feb 2003 I was at the range in Kuwait spotting the .50 and MK-19 with no issue. Firing the zero for the M-4 was real quick too.

In Najaf, I really noticed the difference when I could transition from sight picture to sight picture without having to keep the glasses "framed" around the sights. I could also transition from the M-4 to the M-9 a lot faster than in the past.

Part of it is also Phsyco-symatic (sp), alot of people get a lot of confidence once they lose the glasses dependancy.

My wife works in the eye care field (Licensed Dispensing Optician) and sees the confidence factor all the time.

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[phoenixlpr 0]

I've chosen some day of (real and physical)pain(PRK) than a wound that never heal properly.

Make up your mind! Its a serious decision.

[Speer 0]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune Stephen. You are absolutely right that there is a lot at risk. It makes sense to put a lot of thoughtful consideration into making a decision regarding vision surgery. And while contacts, or glasses aren't that bad, there are some occupations (or hobbies for that matter ) where they can be worse than just a nuisance. Sometimes, glasses or contacts are awful, hazardous even.

I had good reason to pursue vision correction surgery to help me perform, and nudge the odds a little more in my favor. I had a good experience with PRK, so tend to paint it favorably, others do the same with LASIK, LASEK etc... but no one should take an ambivalent attitude towards surgery! I hope no one interprets my comments as a statement that vision correction surgery is "no big deal". It is best to get informed, and then manage risk... not alot different than making decisions about skydiving.

Hopefully, those who read this thread will be sufficiently warned to do their homework.

Russ

Generally, it is your choice; will your life serve as an example... or a warning?